Apple shares dive on rumors of weak iPhone 6s demand

Posted: November 10, 2015 9:51AM in AAPL Investorsedited December 2015

Investors sent Apple stock sliding on Tuesday following reports that the Cupertino company may have been forced to dial back orders for its new flagship handsets due to lower-than-expected demand.

Apple Infinite Loop Campus

The news came courtesy of Credit Suisse, which slashed its full-year iPhone sales estimates for 2016 by 20 million units to 222 million. "We believe [the component] adjustments reflect a more subdued launch around the iPhone 6s/6s Plus in terms of uptake," the bank said, according toCNBC.

At press time, Apple shares were down 2.7 percent at $117.31 after falling by more than $3 from Monday's $120.57 close in pre-market trading.

"The cuts seem to be driven by weak demand for the new iPhone 6s, as overall builds are now estimated to be below 80 million units for the December quarter and between 55-60 million units for the March quarter," the note read.

Last month, Apple announced sales of 48 million iPhones in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2015. That represented a 22-percent year-over-year increase in unit sales.

Though it's not clear how much the iPhone 6s and 6s plus contributed to that mix, the devices did set a sales record in their opening weekend. Apple shifted over 13 million of the new handsets in the first three days of availability, besting the previous record of 10 million set by the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

I believe it. It wouldn't surprise me. If I was in the market for a big phone I would go with the Note 5, Great screen, larger but with the same overall size , but far sexier. The 6 series is the worst looking iPhone to date. Which is a very shallow aspect, but lust-worthiness has always been an Apple feature. This time around it just looks like any other junk gadget. Like I said above, the Note 5 on looks alone is far more elegant than the dopey looking 6. I would go for it myself with how much they have discounted it recently, but instead will wait to see what the 7 looks like, and what features it has.

These reports are never accurate and are usually based on a false premise-- that the initial built rate remains constant throughout the product cycle. Apple predicts CQ4 build rates and pretends they will order the same quantities in CQ1 and CQ2. They do this so adequate quantities are available at peak times and they don't have to deal with production shortages. I imagine they pay some penalty to reduce the rate, but it is an insurance policy.

But, hey... if you were looking for a good opportunity to buy the stock, now you can get in 3% lower...

(and 2018 Options... you can get $75 strike for $45! People must think the stock isn't going anywhere...)

I believe it. It wouldn't surprise me. If I was in the market for a big phone I would go with the Note 5, Great screen, larger but with the same overall size , but far sexier. The 6 series is the worst looking iPhone to date. Which is a very shallow aspect, but lust-worthiness has always been an Apple feature. This time around it just looks like any other junk gadget. Like I said above, the Note 5 on looks alone is far more elegant than the dopey looking 6. I would go for it myself with how much they have discounted it recently, but instead will wait to see what the 7 looks like, and what features it has.

You lose all credibility using words like dopey. Also there's zero evidence that high-end Samsung phones are flying off the shelves so obviously the public doesn't agree with you.

There was a lot of pent up demand for a larger iPhone. I don;t think anyone ever described the look of the iPhone 6 as beautiful. Or at least not like the previous ones. The knee-jerk reaction to the 5s was always to describe it as sexy.

As far as the design of the 6s vs the Galaxy Note 5, I am not a fan of Samsung design but I would bet if you asked 100 designers to tell you which was physically nicer the Note 5 would easily come out on top.

I was shopping at Target a few weeks ago and they had the older iPhone 6 and 6plus on sale for 1 penny, I was about to jump on that deal even though I hate the design fo the 6 but the Verizon models for a penny were sold out and they only had the at&t ones left. So they were discounting the hell out whatever stock of the older 6 was left.

All I am saying is I think that the pent up demand for the 6 has been satiated and more discerning people like me where not going to be hauling around such a dopey looking thing with stripes on the back while we had perfectly good working and far cooler phones on our hands with the 5s. I just couldn't do it. I would rather wait and see what the 7 looks like.

I believe it. It wouldn't surprise me. If I was in the market for a big phone I would go with the Note 5, Great screen, larger but with the same overall size , but far sexier. The 6 series is the worst looking iPhone to date. Which is a very shallow aspect, but lust-worthiness has always been an Apple feature. This time around it just looks like any other junk gadget. Like I said above, the Note 5 on looks alone is far more elegant than the dopey looking 6. I would go for it myself with how much they have discounted it recently, but instead will wait to see what the 7 looks like, and what features it has.

This is so boring. We hear this every year at this time and some investors panic as always only to find out Apple has yet another all time high earnings for the quarter when all is said and done. They know Apple won't respond to this nonsense. Also, very interesting they kept there rating and price target the same and said not only to not sell but to buy on any weakness...so they can issue this report and buy the stock today to take advantage of the dip and claim they are doing exacting what they are telling you to do in the report.